East End

The East End is a section of London east of the ancient City of London, west of the River Lea, and north of the River Thames. It began to emerge in the Middle Ages as the City of London expanded beyond the eastern boundaries of the London Wall, and, by 1720, the East End had become one of the four parts of London named in the Survey of London, alongside London, Westminster, and Southwark. The Tower of London's division became urbanized, adding to the East End, which soon expanded into Essex. During the late 19th century, the East End became known for its urban poverty, overcrowding, squalor, and high crime rates, and it became an immigrant neighborhood during the 1880s as Eastern European Jewish refugees from pogroms arrived in the area. It was the site of the Jack the Ripper murders from 1887 to 1891, a series of events which drew international attention to the plight of the East End's residents. The murders ultimately led to the demolition of the overcrowded slums, although poverty remains an issue in several East End neighborhoods. The closure of the last East End docks in 1980 created further economic issues for the beleaguered community, but the improvement of Canary Wharf and the construction of Olympic Park helped to spur regrowth in the neighborhood.